Kelly Ayotte Should Stop Blaming Children For Alleged Abuse at Sununu Center

Kelly Ayotte Should Stop Blaming Children For Alleged Abuse at Sununu Center
 

New reports reveal that a child has suffered from a “broken femur” inside the Sununu Youth Services Center. Months of alleged abuse have persisted under Ayotte’s watch, and this is just the latest situation that has left the SYSC “in a state of ‘chronic dysfunction’” and has led to “serious safety issues.” 

Children under state care at the facility have reportedly been “confined in their rooms for so long” that they’ve been forced to “urinate on the floor.” The Office of the Child Advocate has been sounding the alarm about alleged abuse happening inside the center for months, but Ayotte has yet to act on those repeated warnings. Instead, she slashed staff capacity for the independent watchdog by nearly half and barrelled forward with her budget cuts that have also led to a dangerous shortage of youth counselors at the facility.

Meanwhile, Dr. Samantha Morin, who is in charge of clinical care at the center, is leaving, marking another departure as the crisis continues to spiral. It’s been months since Ayotte decided not to reappoint Child Advocate Cassandra Sanchez, and yet, Kelly still has given “no clear timeline for filling the vacancy.”

“It’s well past time for Kelly Ayotte to step up and appoint a new child advocate,” said NHDP Chair Ray Buckley. “Enough with the blaming of children in state care; the finger should be pointed squarely at Kelly Ayotte. After all, Kelly Ayotte weakened the independent watchdog charged with protecting those children and signed budget cuts that deepened staffing shortages at the facility.”